This is What Robbie Maddison Went Through for a Pipe Dream

The crazy giant wave ride by Australian daredevil Robbie Maddison astride a modified dirt bike off Tahiti has ignited the imagination of motorcycle lovers across the globe. His feat on the KTM 250 SX, complete with skis, is captured in an exquisitely produced video that pays tribute to the immensity of this first-ever achievement.

Robbie Maddison launches his KTM into the water from a barge designed to get the bike up to skimming speed.

Even more dramatic is the behind-the scenes story of “Maddo” turning his bike-surfing dream into reality, and almost paying the ultimate price. The three-part series, “Behind the Dream: The Making of Robbie Maddison’s Pipe Dream”, is a riveting account; not only does it outline the unique challenges of mounting an insane adventure on a tropical island, it also exposes the raw emotions of humans who are both terrified and enthralled by the enormity of their mission.

Each time the bike was sunk it would take 5 to 7 hours to clear out the sea water and get the bike running again.

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Bike surfing a giant wave demands a fair deal of preparation and innovation, as Maddison’s support team discovers. So too is handling a bike on skis and powered by a paddlewheel, a technique Maddison masters with maddening ease.

The video series also speaks of a remarkable man who, notwithstanding a life-long flirtation with death, is also a doting father and loving husband. And yet, such is the humility of Maddison that these apparent contradictions are seamlessly woven into a charismatic, and disarmingly complex, man.

“This is the most I’ve ever wanted to quit on something” – Robbie Maddison

Like the video capturing Maddison’s historic ride, the behind-the-scene series is also tautly edited, as the climatic end of Part 3 attests.

Whether Maddison’s feat represents the first tentative step of a new two-wheel discipline remains to be seen. But there’s no doubt his feat will inspire others; after all, and in Maddison’s words, “an idea is only crazy until someone does it”.